Take Me Away
by cherrypop101
Summary: You had always lived a happy life when you knew him. Years later, you are not the little girl you were before. Meeting Zolo again, you were afraid, trying to escape from your caged life. If only... someone could take you away.
1. Chapter 1

Story Start:

You were carrying Cail as you walked through the Alabastian bazaar looking  
for supplies before you headed to sea again.

"Momma can I get a birdie?" asked Cail as you balanced him on your hip, as  
you looked at some fruit.

"Soon you will." you said walking around more holding Cail on your hip and  
keeping a hand on your swords, that were tied to your hip.

"Yay!" said Cail "If we get one I want a dove!"

"Why would you want a dove?" you asked him with a chuckle.

"Because you remind me of one!" said Cail .

You kissed him on the forehead and smiled. Who needs a boyfriend when you  
got a kid that's gives you better compliments and looks better too? You  
laughed at the thought and kept walking while Cail ate a piece of  
watermelon. Two guys with nasty smiles came up to you and followed you a  
bit, before you actually decided to tell them off.

"Would you stop following me?" you asked turning to them.

"Well you were so pretty that we just couldn't help ourselves." said the  
tall one.

"Help yourself and walk in the other direction." you said.

"What if we don't want to?" said the shorter one.

"Just leave me alone!" you said started to walk away.

"You're not going anywhere lady." said the taller one grabbing your arm.

"Don't you dare touch me!" you shouted shaking your arm out of his grip and  
kicking him right where it hurts, making him double over.

"We can do whatever we want!" said the shorter one about to grab your waist.

"The lady said to leave her alone!" said another guy's voice, knocking the  
short guy over and away from you.

You looked up and saw two guys, a swordsman who looked oddly familiar and a  
blonde guy smoking a cigarette.

"Who do you think you are huh!" shouted the taller guy.

"I think I'm the guy about to kick your ass for harassing her..." said the  
swordsman pulling out a sword.

"I second that." said the blonde guy getting ready for a fight.

"Whatever," said the shorter guy "We're out."

The guys harrassing you ran off, finally leaving you alone. Cail looked up  
and then gave a huge smile.

"Zolo, Zolo, Zolo!" Cail said clapping hid hands.

"Huh?" you said looking at Cail "Hun that's not Zolo-"

"Maya?" said the swordsman looking at you wide eyed.

You looked at the swordsman, your light amethyst eyes scanning his face. He  
was gaping at you; you changed so much yet still looked at same. Is this  
really her? he thought I can't believe I missed so much.

"It is you." you said "You got.tall."

"You know this beautiful woman, Zolo!" asked his friend.

"Yeah, I know her" replied Zolo with a chuckle at your statement of his  
height "You never really do change do you Maya?"

"Maya!" said his friend "What a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl! I  
have truly seen an angel!"

His friend grabbed your hand and kissed it, making Zolo fume. You laughed  
and took your hand back shaking your head.

"Sorry, but I'm not interested" you said "No offence but you're not really  
my type either."

"Oh, rejection is such sorrow!" he exclaimed.

"Shut up Sanji," said Zolo "You're weirding out the kid."

"Momma who's that?" asked Cail looking at Sanji curiously.

"One of Zolo's friends?" you said.

"You're a mother?" asked Sanji in shock, because your age didn't even show  
it. "How old are you?"

"Sanji stop bothering about it!" said Zolo trying to get off the subject,

You just looked at Cail and saw he had watermelon all over his face. Taking  
a cloth from your pouch that was slung around your waist; you wiped his face  
much to the child's protest.

"Uh, so what are you doing here, Maya?" asked Zolo.

"Oh, just here for some supplies" you said.

"Zolo!" shouted a voice "Sanji! Where'd you go!"

You gave both the men a questioning look and they shook their heads with a  
sigh.

"Luffy" they said ".You might want to step back Maya"

You and Cail looked at them with confusion but you stepped back anyway. Zolo  
and Sanji braced themselves and got ready for whatever was coming. All of a  
sudden a boy with a straw hat came hurtling towards them and he crashed into  
Zolo and Sanji with such force that they skidded back. Zolo and Sanji fell  
back, the straw hatted boy sitting on them.

"Guys?" he said looking around "Where'd you go?"

"Down here Luffy and do you mind GETTING OFF OF US!" shouted Sanji.

"Oh there you guys are!" said Luffy jumping up. "I've been looking all over  
for you!"

"You looking for us?" said Zolo "We were looking for you!"

"Hi!" said Luffy finally noticing you. "Who're you?"

"Luffy, this is my friend Maya" Zolo said as Luffy shook your hand  
vigorously.

"Maya huh? I like that name! It's pretty!" said Luffy.

You looked at Luffy with a very confused face while Cail started laughing.

"Maya, this is Luffy.Our captain" said Zolo.

"Captain?" you repeated, looking at Luffy "You're a pirate too?"

"Yup!" said Luffy proudly. "I'm going to be king of the pirates!"

"I'm sure you are" you said nodding.

Even if you had just met this kid you already knew he had enough potential  
to make his dream come true. Now, you believed he was a captain. Even if he  
was a tad on the loopy side.

"Momma he's funny!" said Cail pointing at Luffy.

"Oh a kid!" said Luffy "He looks like Zolo! How cool! Oh and you have three  
swords too!"

Zolo took notice of this and saw the three swords tied at your hip.

"Well, Zolo's not the only one who can wield three swords" you said with a  
chuckle.

"That's so cool!" said Luffy waving his arms around.

Just then, a kid around 15 snuck up behind you and snagged your swords. You  
whipped around and growled, as he started running away with them.

"Oh, hell no!" you fumed, passing Cail to Luffy "He did not just do that!"

You took out a hidden kunai from your glove and threw it with precise aim.  
The kunai got the kids shirt and pinned him to the wall, while he held the  
swords in fear.

"Wow good aim" said Luffy, taking a few blinks as you stormed over to the  
kid.

"That's not even half of it." said Zolo with a smile as he remembered when  
he was on the receiving end of one of your fits.

You grabbed your swords from the kid and glared at him as he closed his eyes  
ready for something. All you did though was smack him across the face loud  
enough that everyone within earshot heard, leaving a deep red mark on his  
cheek. Taking your kunai back, you walked away securing your swords to your  
hip again, leaving the kid with a very confused look on his face.

"You should've given that kid a beating" said Zolo as you took back Cail  
from Luffy.

"Well I didn't." you said.

"You need to join my crew!" said Luffy "That was so cool!"

"Your crew?" you asked. "I'm sorry, I can't. Well, I should get going now...  
It was nice to see you again Zolo."

You grabbed Cail, balancing him in your arms and turned to walk away but  
just as you turned Zolo grabbed your arm.

"Wait, you can't go... I don't even know where you live anymore. You owe me  
an explanation... at least" he said.

"Momma, where will we sleep tonight?" asked Cail cutting into Zolo's  
sentence.

"Oh Cail," you groaned knowing that now Zolo would never let you leave  
without you explaining to him now.

"What do you mean where?" Zolo asked giving you and Cail a strange look.

"We ran away from home!" exclaimed Cail before you could stop him.

"Why?" he asked you, looking into your eyes.

You sighed and set Cail back down.

"Cail, why don't you go play with Luffy?" Zolo said waving over to Luffy and  
Sanji who were examining a piece of fruit, very carefully

Cail nodded and headed over to the guys excitedly. Meanwhile, Zolo lead you  
to a table outside a cafe' were people were ordering food.

"So, what's going on?" he asked this time more seriously.

"What makes you think there's something wrong? Maybe I just went on vacation  
for all you know" you said.

"Cail said you ran away. The Maya I know doesn't run away from her problems.  
So it has to be something... HUGE something not even you can deal with,  
alone to make you run way." said Zolo.

"Yeah, well... I'm not the same Maya you once knew." you answered bitterly.

"I can see that you're not a little girl anymore." he said responding with a  
smile.

"Yeah, well three years really changes a person." you said.

"Where are you planning on going?" he asked you, his voice filled with  
concern.

You looked up to meet his gaze and knew that there was no avoiding this.

"I have no place to go" You said simply.

He nodded and looked over at Cail.

"I can't just leave you both here." he said.

"What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with you. You have your  
own life, and your own problems, I'm sure." you said.

You looked over at Cail and Luffy. Luffy had placed Cail on his shoulders  
and was running in circles around Sanji happily. Luffy turned to you and  
waved.

"So, are you joining my crew?" he called

You stared at him bewildered. Hadn't you already said no?

"It's settled then, you're coming with us." said Zolo getting up.

"What? When did I agree to that?" You asked following him.

"You hear that Cail? You're coming with us." said Zolo ruffling Cail's hair

Cail who on Luffy's shoulders was about Zolo's height, smiled and threw his  
arms into the air.

"Yay! Momma is it true? Are we really gonna be pirates?" Cail asked  
excitedly.

You looked around and the others. Luffy, Sanji and Zolo were all smiling at  
you. Then you turned back to Cail with a smile.

"Yes it's true" you said.

"Whoopee!" shouted Cail.

"Awesome!" shouted Luffy and ran around with Cail still on his shoulders.

"You guys are staying! You gotta meet the rest of the crew! There's Nami,  
Ussop and Chopper!"

"Cool!" said Cail gaining Luffy's excitement

"There's one little problem though" you said to Zolo.

"And that would be?" he asked.

"My brother Nora." you answered.

"He's with you!" asked Zolo, remembering your older and very protective  
brother. "He hates my guts!"

"Well I don't predict the future!" you said, "I didn't know I'd meet you  
somewhere!"

"Maya! Hey Maya!" you heard you brothers voice call.

"Oh boy." said Zolo sarcastically, "This is becoming a family reunion!"

"Uncle Nora!" said Cail happily climbing off of Luffy and running over to  
your brother. "You found us!"

"I've been looking for you guys everywhere!" said Nora coming up to you and  
then noticed Luffy, Sanji and Zolo. "Okay who are these guys?"

"Oh, Nora..." you said. "These are my new friends Sanji, Luffy.and you  
remember Zolo don't you?"

Nora sized up Zolo for a moment before grunting.

"Yeah.The troublemaker you always hung out with.Yeah I remember him." said  
Nora and then added with a tad bit of harshness, "What's he doing here?"

"Well for your information" you said punching him in the shoulder, because  
of his rudeness. "They asked me to be in their crew and I said yes, much to  
my own surprise."

"YOU WHAT!" shouted Nora.

"I joined their crew." you repeated.

"I can't believe you did this!" said Nora.

"Neither do I but it happened." you said.

"And let me guess," said Nora crossing his arms, "Zolo's in the crew too?"

"Yeah what about it!" asked Zolo.

"You have no idea what you guys are getting yourselves into!" said Nora.  
"Look at you! All amateurs!"

"Amateurs!" asked Luffy getting all serious and puffing his chest out. "Who  
are you calling an amateur?"

Luffy deflated and then looked to Sanji, with a confused face.

"What's an amateur?" asked Luffy, scratching his head.

"You dingbat!" shouted Sanji. "He's calling us inexperienced!"

"No way! He said that!" asked Luffy.

"You tryin' to pick a fight?" asked Sanji, pushing Nora roughly on the  
shoulder.

"You tell me." said Nora cockily, with a smirk

"Cut it out!" you shouted, pushing Nora and Sanji away from each other.  
"Nora, I joined this crew. I was well aware of the consequences, and I was  
well aware that you would disapprove. But Nora, think about it. Use your  
head for a minute. I have... We have nowhere to go."

"So, join my crew!" he shouted.

"I can't and you know that. They don't let children on board, and besides  
you know that if I join your crew, He'll find out." you said.

You stood and watched his reaction. Slowly his expression softened and  
finally, he let out a defeated sigh.

"I can't just let you go..."He He argued, "Not alone with these... GUYS!"

"What are you insinuating?" asked Sanji.

"None of your business." answered Nora aggressively.

"You guys!" you shouted, getting between them again.

"So... come with her." You heard the voice and turned around, shocked to see  
who had said it.

Zolo was staring at your brother and your brother at him.

"Z-Zolo?" You asked.

You knew that Zolo didn't get along with Nora at all, and it made you wonder  
why he would even suggest that.

"What?" asked Sanji also staring at Zolo.

"I said, so come with her. If he's so worried we might harm his sister or  
his nephew, then let him come with us. Just so he can see, that she'll be  
okay here."

"Are you nuts?" asked Sanji, gaping open mouthed at Zolo now.

"Maybe." said Zolo shrugging and crossing his arms, "I don't like the idea  
either but it's probably the only way he'd let her come with us"

"That's probably the smartest thing I've ever heard you say, trouble maker."  
said Nora, crossing his arms.

You looked at both men and couldn't help but smile to yourself. They may  
hate each other till the end of time, but they had a somewhat respect for  
each other as well. Zolo and your brother's relationship was a strange one  
you had to admit; because at times they would be alright but the next,  
they'd be at each others throats.

"Are there other people in your crew, straw hat?" asked Nora addressing  
Luffy.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" he said. "There's Ussop, Chopper and Nami!"

"Where are those guys anyway?" asked Sanji taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Beats me." said Zolo.

"Hey look! I see a reindeer!" said Cail from his perch on Nora's shoulders.

"That must be Chopper!" said Luffy "HEY CHOPPER! OVER HERE!"

"Look! There's Luffy guys!" said a young voice.

"Finally! I thought we'd never find them!" said another voice.

A walking reindeer, a girl with orange hair and a rather short skirt, and a  
guy with a rather long nose appeared. The girl, you guessed, was Nami but  
the other two you weren't sure of.

"How cool!" said Cail. "The reindeer walks! And has a cool hat too!"

You were glad you taught Cail not to call animals or anything an "it"  
because it would cause much offence. Nami looked from you ,to Nora, to Cail  
and then to Luffy for an explanation.

"Who are these guys Luffy?" she asked.

"Oh! This is Maya, her son Cail and her brother.uh.Nora!" said Luffy almost  
forgetting Nora's name.

"Nice to meet you" said Nami shaking your hand. "I'm Nami and this is Ussop  
and Chopper."

"Maya, Cail and Nora are joining the crew!" said Luffy happily

"Really now?" said Nami. "Well it'll be nice to have another woman around!"

"Actually, I'm more of a temporary crew mate." said Nora. "I already have my  
own crew."

"Oh really?" asked Sanji, "Who?"

"Whitebeard the Pirate." Nora replied, showing the signature tattoo on his  
upper left arm. "Hey straw hat, your name's Monkey D. Luffy right?"

"Yeah." answered Luffy.

"I knew you looked familiar." he said, "I work with your brother Ace. He  
said if I ever met you, to give you this."

Nora handed Luffy a piece of folded paper and Luffy looked at it for a  
second.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Don't know." answered Nora. "He told me not to open it and to give it to  
you. He also said that your paths will meet sometime, in the near future."

"It's blank." said Luffy, "I don't get it."

Cail climbed off of Nora and started playing around with Chopper, the little  
reindeer. They were mimicking each others moves like mimes and acting rather  
silly, as they made faces at each other. (Cail winning the contest though).

"So, we going to the ship?" asked Ussop, "I saw some navy men earlier and  
they looked like they were looking for someone."

"I guess so..." said Sanji.

You picked up Cail and balanced him on your hip. Zolo started walking in a  
different direction and you sighed.

"Zolo!" you called before he went to far, "The docks are this way."

"Huh?" he asked, turning around,"I knew that!"

"Idiot." murmured Nora shaking his head.

You knew Zolo's sense of direction was rather..poor, to put it lightly and  
all you could do was laugh about it. He really hasdn't changed too much over  
the years of your absence. They walked onto the ship from the dock, Luffy in  
the lead with Cail on his shoulders. Nora was between you and Zolo, trudging  
along angrily.

"Nora, could you cut it out?" you asked suddenly halting. Nora turned to  
face you and sighed, still determined to keep between you and Zolo.

When you reached the ship, Nami turned and signaled to you.

"What is it?" You asked walking over to her.

"Well, I thought I'd show you to your room. It's next to mine and across  
from Zolo's."

"Uh... okay" you said, following her in through a wooden door and into a  
hallway.

You walked all the way down the hall, when Nami turned and pointed to a door  
at the end.

"This is it." she said happily.

You opened the door hesitantly and walked into the dark room. Nami walked in  
behind you with a large lantern. As she clicked it on, the entire room was  
engulfed in the yellow light.

"There we go." said Nami handing you the lantern.

"Thanks." You said nodding at her graciously.

"No problem, remember I'm right next door if you need me. Well, actually  
I'll be on the deck right now, since we're taking off. Dinner's at seven. Be  
there or you won't get any food. Zolo and Luffy eat everything in sight."  
She said with a laugh.

You nodded and laughed a little as she left the room. Then you turned to  
face the small room. To your left was a medium sized bed, with red and white  
covers. There was a small night stand next to it, which you noticed was  
nailed to the floor. And, to your left was a small wardrobe taking up the  
whole wall. You placed the lantern on the nightstand, sat on the bed and  
stared at the empty wall in front of you. You were lost in thought, thinking  
about everything that had happened. Both the good and the bad. And you  
remembered the good days, when you were younger. How you would hang around  
with Zolo and your friends just making trouble. But then... He...

"Knock, Knock." said someone in the doorway, interrupting your thoughts.

You gasped and turned abruptly. Zolo smiled at you from the doorway, with  
Cail on his shoulders.

"This little guy sure does like ridding up here" he said.

You laughed and reached up for Cail, who jumped off into your arms.

"Oh, Cail you're going to make everyone's shoulders sore." you said with a  
sigh.

"So, Cail already had dinner. We all did. But, I believe Sanji saved you  
some." said Zolo.

"Oh!" You gasped. "I missed dinner?"

"Yes, you did." he answered with a grin, "You've been up here lost in  
thought for about an hour now..."

"Oh...Oh! Then it must be around eight." you said, placing Cail on the bed  
and taking off his shoes.

"Yeah, it's about eight..." said Zolo watching you from behind.

"Cail, it's bedtime." you said ruffling his hair.

"Awwww... but momma..." he whined.

"No buts." you interrupted and threw the red blanket over him.

"Can't I stay up a little longer? I wanna play with Luffy and Zolo some  
more." he said.

"No." you said shaking your head and tucking the blanket around him.

"Come on Maya, let the kid stay up. We used to all the time remember?" Zolo  
said, from the doorway.

You turned and stared at him.

"No, is no." you said firmly.

Zolo nodded hesitantly, how he used to hate to be at the end of that stare  
before, and even now he hated it.

"But. momma, I'm not..." Cail yawned in the middle of his sentence and  
rubbed his eyes, "I'm not sleepy, honest." he said.

You laughed and pulled back his fuzzy, white hair.

"Oh yes you are" you said.

"I have an idea... why doesn't your momma tell you a story?" asked Zolo  
sitting at the edge of the bed, next to you.

"Yay! Story!" exclaimed Cail happily.

"Ok..." You said sitting back and leaning against the wall. "Well, once upon  
a time... there was a little girl, and this little girl was very lonely you  
see."

"Why was she lonely, momma?" asked Cail.

"Because she had just moved to this new island. And she had no friends."

"Awww... that's sad" said Cail.

"Well, the little girl had a little black cat. And she loved him very much,  
because he was her only friend. And everyday, the cat would leave the house  
for a morning stroll. But one day, the cat didn't come home."

"Why not momma?" asked Cail.

"Because the cat was stuck in a tree!" you exclaimed, "So, the little girl  
went out to look for the cat. She looked every where, but she couldn't find  
him. So, she went to the beach in tears. And there in front of her was the  
biggest tree she had ever seen. And she asked herself 'What is a tree this  
big doing on the beach?" Then suddenly she began to hear a 'meow mew meow'.  
So she looked up into the trees gnarled branches; and there was her cat!"  
you said.

You looked at Cail who gasped, and from the corner of your eye you looked at  
Zolo, he was staring intently at you.

"So, the little girl climbed the tree. She went all the way to where her  
kitty was and sat on a branch holding him in her arms. But the little girl  
couldn't climb down the tree because she was too scared."

"So," interrupted Zolo "A little boy who was practicing his Karate on the  
beach heard her crying, and he walked up to the tree and asked her 'What's  
wrong?' And she said, 'I can't get down from this tree, I'm too scared. So,  
the little boy climbed up to her and sat next to her. 'Don't cry.' He said.  
'You have to be brave. Your kitty's counting on you.' and she nodded as she  
wiped her tears away. 'Here, I'll help you.' He said holding her kitty in  
one hand and grabbing her hand in the other. Slowly, he led her down the  
tree, until finally they were on the ground. The little girl then turned to  
the little boy, still wiping her tears and said 'Thank you.' The little boy  
smiled at her and took her hand. 'I want to show you something.' So the  
little girl followed him, and he led her into a cave. It was dark and a  
little scary but the little girl followed him. There was water in the cave  
that reached their up to their ankles, and small fish swimming around them.  
By now, it was very dark in the cave, almost pitch black. But then, at the  
end there was a light. The little girl gasped as they reached the end of the  
cave, it was filled with beautiful glowing rocks and just below them there  
was a tide pool that had a beautiful red coral in it. They stood there  
quietly staring at the rocks, when the little girl said. 'I promise to be  
braver! And next time you won't have to help me! I promise!' She said. 'But  
I don't mind helping you.' Said the little boy to her.' " Zolo finished and  
stared at you now even more intently.

"The end." you said softly

"But momma, do they live..." again, Cail yawned, "...Happily ever after?" He  
asked.

"Yes. They lived happily ever after." you breathed.

You bent down to give Cail a kiss, and dimmed the lantern.

"Well, goodnight." said Zolo.

He got up and walked to the door, giving you one last look before leaving  
and closing the door behind him. You quietly got up and opened the door, to  
find Zolo only a few steps away.

"Hey," you called softly making him turn around, "Thanks.For the memory."

You padded over to him and gave him a hug, smiling warmly up at him and he  
gave a small smile, of his own. At that moment he actually saw the little  
girl he came to love so long ago, in that smile. There wouldn't be anything  
in the world that he wouldn't give for you just to smile.

"Goodnight" he said.

"Night." you smiled and walked back into the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Zolo watched, as the door closed, before heading out to the deck and look  
out to sea. Unknown to Zolo, Nora was leaning against the upper deck wall,  
looking down at him with a slight curiosity. Without even making a sound,  
Nora jumped down, landing next to Zolo.

"You really want her to stay don't you?" asked Nora, startling Zolo out of  
his wits.

After he calmed down, Zolo looked at Nora and just nodded, looking back out  
to sea.

"Yeah." he said. "But I'd understand if you want her to go with you.Not  
really, but hey you're her brother."

"You missed a lot when you lef,t you know?" said Nora sadly. "She really  
needed you then. I wasn't there, so I couldn't help her.I wish I was though  
and it never would've happened."

"What?" asked Zolo.

"Our father got into a bad business." explained Nora, with sadness in his  
voice. "He didn't fulfill a deal and his boss threatened to kill the whole  
village, if he didn't get an even trade."

"I don't understand." said Zolo looking at Nora.

"Our father gave Maya away to that sick bastard." growled Nora, "He forced  
her to marry him.and then.he raped her."

"What!" said Zolo with wide eyes.

Nora's eyes became sad and they watered with regret.

"She was only 14." he said in a choked whisper, "Didn't know what the hell  
was going on and when she needed help most.no one was there to help her.  
That's when she conceived Cail."

Zolo was speechless and in total shock. The little girl he knew, so happy  
and gentle, carefree and pure, literally sold to a man who did god knows  
what to her. A stray tear fell from Nora's face and he looked out to sea  
with a calm look.

"You know." he said, "If I had a say in anything and if I could ever change  
the past.I'd always keep her with you."

This shocked Zolo as well. Nora.being nice to him? That just was,  
impossible.

"What do you mean?" asked Zolo.

"She was happy with you, you were the one who made her smile the most. "  
said Nora. "Do you have any idea how long it's been since she smiled, a true  
smile? Years.And I had never seen one, until she was with you."

"I don't get it." said Zolo. "She could've been with any one during all this  
time!"

"I don't know..." said Nora with a small thoughtful smile, "After she ran  
away from that man.I think she was waiting."

"Waiting for what, exactly?" asked Zolo.

He stared at Nora who smiled thoughtfully and stared out into the sea.

"This..." Said Nora stretching out his arms to the sea.

Zolo stared out into the horizon, were the moon had just rosen to the stars.

"Maybe..." He whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

"Breakfast time!!" Shouted someone from the hall. You grunted and flipped  
over, stretching your arm over the pillow.

"Momma... momma!!" said Cail, shaking you vigourously. "Momma, wake up!!"

You just grunted, again and burried your face deeper into the pillow.

Apparently Cail gave up, with a tired sigh he put on his shoes and ran out  
into the hall, and right into Luffy.

"Luffy!!" gasped Cail, bowing appotigetically.

"What?" asked Luffy, looking down at Cail.

"Sorry I bumped into you." He said.

"What are you sorry for? I do it all the time!" He laughed, "Watch this!" He  
ran over to Sanji, who was knocking on Zolo's door and knocked into him with  
such force, that Sani flew forwads and flat onto the door.

"Hey! Watch it!" Shouted Sanji, peeling himself from the door.

"Awsome!" shouted Cail.

"You bet!" Screamed Luffy, grabbing Cail and throwing him on his shoulders.

"Hey! What's all the noise over here?" asked Zolo grumpilly coming out of  
his room.

"Where's your mom?" He asked, suddenly standing up strait.

"Oh... I think she's dead." Said Cail happily.

"WHAT!?" shouted Zolo, throwing open your door.

"Huh?" Was all you barely got to say, beacause yes, you were already up. And  
you were in the middle of putting on your shirt too.

"UH... SORRY!" shouted Zolo, bangning the door closed. You blushed and still  
held onto your chest, wich was gratefully wrapped in at least a thin cloth.

Zolo walked out of the room, with a deep, red blush on his face.

"Zolo, Zolo, why are you red?" asked Cail innocently.

Zolo stared at him and coverd his face with his hands.

"Uh..." He said.

"Well, Cail... Zolo has just realized what beautiful race woman are, you  
see! Alas Zolo, your blinded eyes have been opened!" Exclaimed Sanji. Zolo  
turned redder at this, which was close to impossible now.

"Yeah well, there better not be anymore opening of eyes, around here! Ya  
hear?!" said Nora coming out of his room and punching Sanji on the head.

"Uh... Zolo's got a girl friend!!" Sang Luffy, cracking up into laughter.

"Zolo's got a girlfriend!! Zolo's got a girl friend!!" Sang Cail, joining in  
Luffy's chorus. And thus, this is were you appeared. Now fully dressed, you  
came out of your room. Your hair was tied back, as was your skirt also, so  
that you could easilly work on the deck.

Luffy and Cail stopped in the middle of their chant and Zolo turned to face  
you with a blush.

"I... I'm sorry!" He exclaimed bowing his head. You also turned red and  
huffed, with anger.

"Yeah! Well next time knock!" You said slapping the back of his head.

He rubbed it sourly, but nodded.

"ZOLO'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!" shouted Luffy and Cail. You turned to them  
abruptly.

"Really, and who might this be?" You asked them dryly.

Luffy and Cail opened their mouths to answer but Sanji covered them quickly  
and pushed them up the stairs to the deck.

"AH! BREAKFAST!' he called.

"Oh boy! I'm starved!" Shouted Luffy running ahead of Sanji.

"Wait up! Don't you dare eat it all!" called Sanji running after them.

Everyone except Nora ran off to go eat, leaving you and him with very  
confused faces on. He looked at you with a 'out of all the crews you had to  
choose this one' look. Nami came out of her room and smiled.

"We going to eat or what?" she said  
"Sure" you and Nora said and followed her to the kitchen

When you, Nora, and Nami arrived , everyone especially Luffy was stuffing  
thier faces. You and Nora blinked a few time before seeing the state Luffy  
was in. His cheeks were so filled that they puffed out like a hamster.

"Is that normal?..." said Nora, his eye twitching  
"Yeah it is" said Nami punching Luffy in the head, making his swallow his  
food

You sat next to Cail who was sitting next to Chopper while Nora sat on your  
left. Sanji placed a plate of food in front of you and you thanked him  
graciously. Since you didn't eat dinner last night, you were really hungry  
and when you were hungry, you were a force to be reckond with. You saw  
Luffy's hand make its way over to your plate (He was scarfing down  
everything!! and still hungry!) so you got your fork and stuck it into his  
hand (Since he's made of rubber it didn't really injure him but it got your  
warning across). Nora started laughing as you finished your plate without  
Luffy trying to steal it.

"So Maya" said Nami "Tell us more about yourself"  
"Well what would you like to know?" you asked  
"How old are you?" asked Ussop  
"19" you said  
"Where are you from?" asked Chopper  
"Statu Island like Zolo" you said

It looked like they got all thier questions answered so Nora turned to you.

"Alright, since you already ate" he said "It's time to practice again"  
"What?" you said "Why?!"  
"Because I said so" said Nora with a smile  
"T-thats not fair!" you said getting up out of your chair, followed by him  
"Yeah it is" he said started to walk out of the kitchen  
"No it's not!" you said  
"I'm older so you gotta do what I say!" he said before he walked out

You fumed and stomped your foot like a child. Cail giggled and clapped his  
hands before he hopped out of his chair.

"I hate it when he does that..." you grumbled before going outside

Cail looked at everybody with a smile.

"You guys wanna watch?" he asked "It's fun watching momma train with uncle  
Nora!"  
"Oh realy?!" said Luffy who has been dying to see what Nora can do "We're  
going to see Nora in action?! I wanna see!"  
"I want to see what this tough guy is made of" said Sanji who was still a  
bit ticked about Nora picking on him

Cail spread is arms out and ran outside making funny noises. The others  
followed him outside where you and Nora were getting ready. Cail sat on a  
barrel that was off to the side and the others sat around on the deck except  
Sanji who prefered to stand up.

"You can win momma!" cheered Cail pumping his fists into the air  
"This is going to be good!" said Luffy

You took off your top shirt, having a tight black one under and took off the  
tied skirt you had to reveal some black capris. You fixed your hair into a  
ponytail and got ready while Nora wrapped bandages around his hands for  
protection.

"Ready!" said Cail

Both you and Nora got into position and nodded.

"Gong-yi-tempai!" said Cail

You and Nora charged at eachother and Nora grabbed you by the waist,  
slamming you onto the deck. Nami covered her mouth at the agressivness of  
Noras aproach in the attack.

"That had to hurt" she commented

You pulled up both of your legs and dug the balls of your feet into Nora's  
stomach, sending him into the railing of the ship.You jumped up and got  
ready again since that would only stop Nora for a few seconds. He came with  
a small dagger in his hand (Its always used for practice) and swiped it at  
you. You dropped down and he cut some of your hair instead of you.  
Uh-oh... Zolo thought as you looked down to see a lock of hair on the  
deck. Nora realized what he did and put an innocent look on.

"OH IT'S ON!!" you shouted "YOU'RE SO DEAD NOW!!!"

Nora got a face of playful fear and ran when you charged at him. You had a  
look of pure violence as you chased Nora around the deck.

"Maya I didn't mean to!" said Nora now getting scared because you started  
throwing things at him.

Laughter errupted from around the deck as you chased Nora down like a dog.  
Finally catching up to him, you leaped into the air. He turned around  
shocked, hearing you footsteps stop.  
"I've got you right were I want you..." you whispered to yourself;  
forcefully falling foot-first into his face, pushing him downwards onto the  
floor.  
He landed on his back, with a loud thump and you peeled your large, black  
boot from his face.  
"WOOOO!! That's my momma!!" Shouted Cail clapping his hands and running over  
to you. Luffy and the others laughed as Nora sat up and wiped the blood  
pouring from his nose.  
"That was awsome!" Said Luffy finally coming over and throwing his hands  
into the air. Zolo also came over and outstretched his hand to Nora, who  
took it and pulled himself up.  
"Uncle Nora, you lost!" Shouted Cail leaping into his uncle's arms. He  
placed Cail on his shoulders and walked into the hallway. He was then  
closely followed by Luffy, Ussop and Sanji who were now laughing at the  
growing red mark on his face, were your boot had just been a minute ago.  
"Hey! Come back!" Called Nami, following them into the hallway, a first aid  
kit in her hand.  
"So..." You said, you voice trailing off , as you untied your hair and  
examining the damage. Deciding it was minor, and an equal trade for the  
damage done to your brother, you let the ribbon go, out into the sea.  
"I'm sorry." Said Zolo climbing the small flight of stairs leading to the  
upper deck.


	4. Chapter 4

hello peoples!!!!

wells i would lyk 2 thnk all of u soOoOoOoOo much 4 R&R ing!!!!

lol

this story is actuall written by both me n my friend bryanna!

so she wud also lyk 2 thnk u guys!

im sooo happy that at least 1 of my stories is getting reviews again

n id lyk 2 finish this story, lets c how long it takes...

lol

well i luv u all n i hope 2 reply 2 ur e-mails soon!

ily:D

3 barby

He examined the map on a table by them and turned the wheel of  
the ship slightly left.  
"Zolo, turn it right not left..." You said. With a red blush creeping onto  
his face, he corrected his maitake. And you continued."It's ok. I mean, it's  
not the first time someone's seen my 'shirtless' before." You said looking  
out into the sky, facing away from him. It was a beautiful day. The sun was  
glowing and the sky was blue. The wind blew softly, caressing your hair,  
blowing it back and away from your face..  
"No... I.. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, when you needed me the most."  
He said solemnly. You frowned and reminded yourself to kick Nora later, for  
telling Zolo your troubles.  
"I... It's not your fault. Like I said before, you have your own life and  
your own problems. Besides, I meant what I said when I was little. And I  
hate breaking promises." You said. You tried to keep the tears down, and  
your voice steady as you looked out into the sea. From behind you, you felt  
Zolo turn. His eyes were staring at your back gently.  
"I meant what I said, when a was younger too. I don't mind... helping you."  
He said.  
"Why is... that?" You asked. Your voice cracked in the middle of your  
sentence. He didn't answer. Instead, unexpectantly, he wrapped his strong  
arms around you. You turned and burried your face in his chest, sobbs  
shaking you uncontrolably. He rested his chin on your head gently and waited  
for you to stop. His scent was so familiar, and his arms around you felt so  
right. But, you pulled away, wiping your tears with the back of your hand.  
And he let you go, but he didn't take his eyes off of you.  
"Hey, I got one good thing from all that, something I will remain grateful  
for, forever. I got a kid. I had Cail, so you see... I got something  
wonderful, from all that suffering after all." You hesitated, but turned to  
the deck and walked down the stairs leading to it, carefully.  
"Momma!" shouted Cail walking out from the hallway as if on cue.  
"Momma, why are you crying?" He asked gently as you kneeled infront of him.  
"I'm not crying!" You exclaimed taking his hand and kissing it gently. "Come  
on, lets go have a snack, huh?" He nodded and you walked into the kitchen.  
But the while time, you could feel his eyes, staring at you gently. Turning  
around to get back to his job, Zolo looked out to sea I missed her so  
much...

You walked into the kitchen with Cail, to see Nora. His eyes were closed and  
he was  
leaning back on a chair, holding a cloth to his nose. Even though you didn't  
make a sound walking in, Nora sensed you were there and looked over to you.

"You know," he said startling you because you thought he was asleep. "I   
think you broke my nose this time."  
"Well you deserve it!" you said sticking your tongue out at him "Now I have  
to cut my hair to the lenght you cut it!"  
"At least it's not short!" exclaimed Nora, his voice sounding funny because  
he  
was holding his nose. "I mean I'm not that horrible..."

You cut some fruit and gave it to Cail, in a small plate on the table. He  
munched away happily.  
Your eyes bothered you somewhat because of the crying and you rubbed them a   
bit. Nora glanced over at you noticing how  
red they were, and sat upright to look at you. You looked at him and saw his  
concerned expression, his soft golden brown eyes asking 'are you okay? is  
something wrong?'. You nodded and he sat back in his chair again, not  
convinced but he wouldn't press you on the matter. Luffy and Sanji walked in  
and tried to stiffle their laughter as Nora kept holding the cloth to  
his nose.

"You alright tough guy?" asked Sanji biting his lip.  
"I wouldn't be laughing." growled Nora glaring at him "We'll see who's  
laughing when someone kicks you in the face."  
"It was priceless!" burst out Luffy. "Funny too!"  
"Yeah, yeah..." grummbled Nora leaning back in his chair "Whatever..."  
"Doesn't put up much of an arguement does he?" asked Sanji.  
"Not really." you said with a giggle.  
"Hey!" shouted Nora, nearly falling out of his chair. "You're supposed to be  
on  
my side, not theirs! What kind of sister are you?!"  
"A kind that can kick your ass in practice." you shot back.

Nora crossed his arms and mildly glared at you, not able to give another  
comeback. You smirked in victory, making Sanji and Luffy clutch their sides  
laughing. Chopper came in and checked Nora's nose.

"I'm surprised the bleeding stopped, so early." said Chopper "It doesn't  
seem  
to be broken either. So you're alright now."  
"Thanks Chopper." said Nora.  
"Hey where's Ms.Nami and Ussop?" Cail asked.  
"I think Nami's checking out some maps and Ussop's making sure we're on  
track with the rudder" answered Sanji.  
"Ru...rudder?" asked Cail innocently.  
"That's right squirt." Said Luffy, rubbing Cails rair. "Rudder."  
Suddenly, a loud screech pierced the sky.  
"What was that?" asked Luffy, looking out the kitchen door.  
"Harmona!"  
"Darcia!" Exclaimed you and Nora, quickly glancing at each other, and then   
running onto the deck.  
"Who?" asked Sanji, Luffy and Chopper; in unision.

You both looked up and saw two large birds circling the Merry Go. Nora put  
his fingers to his lips and made  
a high pitched whistle. Everyone was on the deck, wondering what was going  
on  
while Cail, was just looking up in the sky with a smile.  
The birds slowly lowered and then you and Nora held up one of your arms for  
their perch. Your bird, a male, perched himself on your offered arm and  
Nora's bird, a female, perched herself on his head. Nora lowered his arm,  
and glared at his bird in dissaproval.

"Those birds are so cool!!" exclaimed Ussop, excitedly.

Nora's bird, a gorgeous white Peregrin falcon with a light blue ribbon on  
her leg, nibbled his hair in an affectionate manner. Your bird, a handsome  
eagle with light golden brown feathers and black eyes with a golden ring  
around the pupil, nuzzled against your  
cheek in affection.

"Harmona! Darcia!" cried Cail happily.

They cried out at the call of their names. Chopper's eyes glittered as he  
watched the two magnicifent birds.

"Wow! Harmona's so pretty!" he commented.

Harmona nodded and opened her wings, showing off her beauty. Darcia just  
turned a golden eye to you. Seemingly saying 'See what I go through?'  
and you chuckled.

"Can I touch it?" Luffy asked you.  
"Um..I wouldn't..." you said with a nervous laugh.

Luffy reached his hand to Darcia in disregard to your warning, And Darcia  
glared daggers at his hand.  
Not heeding Darcia's silent warning, Luffy got closer and Darcia spread his  
wings threateningly; biting Luffy's hand. and bit Luffys hand.

"Ow!!" he said snatching back his hand. "He almost bit my finger off!!"  
"Serve's you right Luffy!" said Nami. "Maya warned you but you went ahead  
and  
touched the bird anyway!"  
"What's the birds deal anyway?" asked Sanji, who was also receiving glares  
from the eagle.  
"He's not very...socialble" you said. "He doesn't like alot of people."  
"I can tell." said Ussop, hiding behind Sanji when Darcia sent a look to  
him.  
"Hey, I remember those birds." said Zolo climbing down to the deck.  
"I don't remember showing you Darcia..." you said obviously confused.  
"Nora sent them after me, when I tried to go to your house a few times."   
said  
Zolo, shooting a glare to Nora."I still have some scars."  
"Nora!" you said, slapping your brother in the back of the head.  
"What!?" asked Nora, rubbing his head in pain. Harmona clucked at you  
angrily,  
defending Nora.

Darcia gave a high pitched cry and opened his wings which silenced Harmona.  
Darcia, obviously held dominance.  
Cail reached up for the eagle and Darcia climbed down from your shoulder   
like a parrot. You just realized how  
big Darcia had grown ,as he stood next to Cail, who was petting his feathery  
head. Darcia was nearly as big as Cail!

"Hey Maya," said Chopper, examining Darcia. "What kind of bird is yours?"  
"An eagle." you replied.  
"How can it be?!" asked Chopper. "Eagle's aren't supposed to be this big!"  
You shrugged knowingly and turned back to Cail and Darcia.  
Darcia was hopping around the deck, with Cail chasing behind, trying to  
catch him.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let Cail play with him?" asked Zolo fully  
aware of the bird's agressive attitude.  
"Yeah, Cail love's Darcia." you said with a smile "Darcia won't do anything  
to him."  
"So we can't eat them?" asked Luffy, scatching his head.  
"Don't you dare!" you and Nora shouted, smacking Luffy on the head.

Harmona started clucking angrily and jumped on Luffy, perchied on his head.  
You  
looked at Darcia and his golden eyes said 'I dare him to try to eat me'.  
Suddenly,  
Darcia cried out and jumped up onto the ships railing, looking out to the  
horizon. You and Zolo walked over to Darcia (Zolo keeping a distance from  
the bird) and looked to where Darcia was staring. Everyone else ran over to  
the railing, and Luffy jumped on the mast to see.

"HEY THERE'S AN ISLAND!" shouted Luffy holding onto his hat as the wind  
blew.  
"Nami what's it called?"  
"That's the island of Charta." she announced looking at one of her maps.   
"It's  
a summer island! The lock-post is pointing right at it, so after like two  
days,  
it'll set in the coordinates and we'll be good to go!"  
"Alright! Let's check it out!" shouted Ussop.


End file.
